Love, Play On
by frais
Summary: She loved the paradox that was Mello. How he was light and dark. Mello/OC Title and Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello! This is my first fanfiction. This will be a Mello/OC story. Most of the ones I've read are really good, but haven't updated since 2011 so I thought I'd write my own! I'm really curious to see what you think of it. Please review! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own (a) Death Note.**

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**Love, Play On**

**Chapter 1**

Linda dipped her brush into the water and watched as the colors ripple to the edge of the cup. Whammy's house was eerily quiet. There were no sounds of movement outside. No footsteps of the children or her peers that reside in the orphanage. No philosophical or academic debates to eavesdrop. Linda wondered if she should hum to break the silence.

That's when she heard it. It was so soft, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. It can't be. From what Linda can recall, her mind was perfectly healthy. Then she heard it again. A swift pop, becoming louder, more urgent. Someone was knocking on the door.

That's weird, she thought. Linda rarely gets visitors and if she does, they're never this aggressive. Perhaps it was her roommate wanting to be let in. But that's impossible because Sylvia is here in the room with her.

Black hair and petite, she laid napping on the twin bed opposite of Linda's. Her soft snores uninterrupted by the persistent knocking.

Linda sets her paintbrush down, walking away from her easel to answer the door. She is greeted by an 8-bit instrumental soundtrack and a loud "Shit" coming from a certain redhead.

"What do you want Matt?" she said crossing her arms before looking at the goggle wearing boy.

"Came by to warn ya. Well, to warn Sylvia."

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you forgotten what today is Linda?"

She thought for a moment. Today was Friday. The twentieth of June, 2002. The temperature was seventy degrees with a slight chance of rain. And oh god today Roger releases the ranking list.

Matt grins seeing her reaction. "You're wel-"

Linda slams the door, cutting him off. She strides quickly to her friend's bed.

"Sylvia, get up."

Sylvia swats the air before returning to her sleeping position. Linda nudges her several times before she finally wakes.

"What is it?"

"You have to get out of here."

"Why? I live here" she says. She grabs her pillow and places it above her head.

"It's Mello."

That was all she needed to hear. Sylvia shot up like a lit firework. Grabbing her jacket, she stumbles heading for the door while putting on her left shoe at the same time.

_No I better go out the window. He's going to expect me to go out the front. Unless he knows that I know he's going to expect me there. Meaning I should use the front door. But he's two steps ahead of me. Whatever. I'm going out the window._

Sylvia climbs out of the window, her feet landing softly on the ground. She chuckles, relieved to see that no one is there. She walks a couple of steps searching for a place to hide but an arm grabs her, turning her around.

"Just as I predicted."

Mello's eyes narrowed at her as he takes a bite of chocolate. He tried not to smirk when she twitched from the snap of the chocolate.

"M-Mello" She hated showing weakness in front of him, knowing that he'd tease her about it. She clenched her fists, darting her brown eyes left and right to find a way to escape from him.

"Ranks were posted today. Just thought, as a friend, I'd come by and compare with you."

_He's angry_, she can tell. His shoulders were tense as he stood towering over her. How Sylvia wished for the rain to come so that his blonde hair would stop glinting in the sun.

"I h-haven't seen my test scores yet. I'll just go and check now. Thanks Mello" Sylvia tries to run, but Mello grabs her wrist.

"No need. I'll tell you. Right. Now. You got a ninety-nine."

"It's just a number. I'm sure you did better than me."

At that Mello's grip tightened and Sylvia let out a whimper.

"For someone who did better than me, you sure are making a lot of mistakes."

He pushed her into the wall. Sylvia tried hard not to grimace at the pain.

"You and Near are in this together. Aren't you? You think I wouldn't figure it out? I'm not as dumb as you think I am."

"I didn't say you were," she whispered.

"Shut up!"

Sylvia complies, resigning herself to stare at him. She hated that despite his rage, she still thought he was handsome. The way his blonde hair contoured his face, and how his dark clothes clung to his sinewy body. She loved the paradox that was Mello. How he was light and dark. An angel and a devil.

"I don't care if you're a girl. I'm going to beat Near and if that means beating you to get there, so be it." He says. He throws his chocolate wrapper on the floor, crushing it with his leather boot before walking away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long. I've been procrastinating. Don't blame me, blame summer vacation. Anyways, hope you guys like this chapter. Reviews and/or suggestions are welcome! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own (a) Death Note.**

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**Chapter 2**

"Are you alright?" Linda asked.

Sylvia had been sitting on her bed in silence for half an hour now. Linda thought about asking what happened with Mello, but from seeing her sitting there with a frown etched on her face, picking at some loose thread on her quilted blanket, Linda knew it wasn't a happy exchange.

She sighed. "If you would just tell someone, maybe they can help."

Sylvia scoffed. "I can't tell anyone. Everyone worships Mello. So he'll get a lecture from Roger. Big deal. That doesn't stop him." She rips the thread from her blanket, tossing it to the floor.

"What about Near?"

"No. Definitely not him. Mello thinks we're in it together to ruin his life. So ridiculous. I can't even look at Near without him suspecting something let alone talk to the guy. And to top it off, Near's not exactly chatty these days. Or ever."

Sylvia laid down on the bed looking over at Linda who shot her a sympathetic look. There was silence between the two yet again, something that happened a lot whenever Mello was the topic of discussion.

Linda began painting again, something to occupy her hands while she thought of a possible solution to her friend's predicament.

"You know…" she said tentatively, "we could tell L. Perhaps he can do something."

"Yeah. I can tell L and he can come to my defense. He'll kick Mello in the head for being such an asshole" Sylvia laughed.

"I'm serious." Linda said, "He cares about all of his successors. I'm sure he'd want to know if something is going on."

"I know, but I just feel guilty bothering him about something so trivial. He's got a lot on his hands with the Kira case, I don't want this to distract him."

"I guess you're right."

Sylvia watched Linda paint and wondered how many canvases she must go through in a day. She was always fascinated at Linda's ability to take a few seemingly miniscule paint strokes and from that create captivating landscapes and still-lifes. Linda chuckled drawing Sylvia out of her thoughts.

"What?" Sylvia asked.

"It's just…I don't understand you two. You and Mello I mean. You both care about L so much. You'd think Mello would at least tolerate you."

Sylvia frowned, choosing to ignore the comment about Mello and her being alike. As far as she was concerned they had nothing in common. She was a wallflower contently accepting a quiet life. Mello was a bully, someone who loved no, demanded attention. She knew this fact from the very first moment they met.

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Whammy's House was a lot bigger than Sylvia expected. Her previous orphanage was a debilitated structure with only a handful of kids to which she knew by name and age. So when she reached the iron gates at Whammy's, she couldn't help but stare in amazement and disbelief. She has never been in a building quite lavish and spacious as Whammy's. This must be heaven, she thought.

Naturally she was nervous to go inside, squeezing gently on Watari's hand. He looked down at her and smiled reassuringly.

"It's alright. There's no need to be nervous."

"What if they don't like me Watari?"

"You'll find, Sylvia that the children are just as friendly as your former orphanage."

"Except more smart right?" she whispered, holding onto Watari's pant leg.

He chuckled at her reaction and guided her inside. A flock of children gathered around the door waiting to see a glimpse of the eight year old, the latest addition to L's line of successors. Sylvia barely had time to register the sea of faces, but one caught her attention; a blonde boy standing at the foot of the staircase frowning at Watari and her. When Watari headed to the east wing where the dormitories were, he followed after them.

"Ah Mello," Watari said "Is there something that you need?"

"I was hoping L would be back. He promised that he would."

"I'm sorry Mello. L is quite busy with some important cases right now."

"Oh."

The boy looked disappointed Sylvia had noted. Apparently this L person meant a lot to him. She looked at him, his vibrant blue eyes had dulled and how his fists were clenched at his side.

"He did want you to have this." Watari said, taking out a small package from his coat.

Mello immediately grabbed the package, ripping the wrapping paper to reveal a box of chocolate. His favorite. Then he smiled and thanked the older man. Finally Mello turned to Sylvia and looked at her. She noticed his eyes were squinted as if studying her. She frowned back. Had he not notice she was here the entire time? If he was pretending, she thought he was very convincing. If he wasn't, surely he must not be that intelligent.

"Who is she?" Mello said taking a bite from his chocolate bar, a bite of it smearing onto his face.

"This is Sylvia. She'll be staying with us."

"Hello. Um, you have a little chocolate on you." She said pointing to the corner of his lip.

He growled at her and wiped his face roughly with his hand. "I knew that."

Watari smiled, an idea popping in his mind. "Mello, I'd like you to show Sylvia around. Help her adjust to Whammy's."

Mello took a long look at her before sighing. "Alright. Let's go."

He quickly walked the other direction, not waiting for her. She ran after him, her little footsteps echoing in the long empty hallway.

Watari looked at the two of them knowingly. He thought Sylvia will learn to be more strong from Mello, and Mello will learn to warm up to others by helping Sylvia. Their partnership will benefit the both of them. At least that's what he hoped.

Sylvia followed him down another hallway where he stopped by some rooms.

"These are the classrooms. The library is straight across over there. You already know where the rooms are. We eat at the dining hall you can figure out where that is."

"How?" Sylvia said quizzically.

"It's the room with the big tables. How hard is that to figure out? Are you slow or something?" he said meanly at her.

Obviously he hadn't forgiven her for her chocolate comment.

"You don't have to be such a jerk" she accused.

"Fine!" he said angrily, "If you think I'm such a jerk, you can find your own way then!"

He walked away from her, going to the library to read. He was sick and tired of this girl and he's only been with her for a couple of minutes. He didn't care if Watari wanted him to help her. It wasn't why he was here at Whammy's.

"Hey where are you going?" she yelled.

She walked aimlessly. The more time she spent wandering around, the more she wished she was at her old orphanage. Watari was wrong, she thought. The kids weren't nice here. If they were all like Mello, she didn't want to be here.

She finally reached her room, remembering the direction that she walked with Watari. She opened the door and smiled, relieved that she found her room. She sat on her bed, opening her suitcase and unpacked her belongings.


End file.
